Flour Substitutes

There is a great demand for recipes that mimic our gluten-filled old favorite foods but use only Paleolithic ingredients. My family is no exception. We thrive on Paleo muffins, Paleo cookies and Paleo snack bars. As you peruse through my recipes and those on the many other wonderful Paleo recipe blogs, you will notice a few common ingredients. I thought you might like a little primer on why we choose which flour substitutes for which recipes.

Blanched Almond Flour: Blanched almond flour is made from super finely ground blanched almonds (I recommend Honeyville Farms or JK Gourmet brands). Almond flour is quite high protein, rich in vitamin E, many B-vitamins, manganese, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, and selenium, while also being lower in omega-6 polyunsaturated fats per gram than many other nuts (but it does still contain about 12g omega-6 fatty acids per 100g whole almonds). When baking with almond flour, you can use similar quantities to regular flour in your recipe, but know that because almond flour does not contain gluten (yay for our intestines!), it doesn’t yield the elasticity or hold together the way wheat flour does. This doesn’t matter for some recipes (muffins or a crumbly cake recipe), but can really feel missed in other recipes. Often recipes that use almond flour require a little more egg or other binder to be added.

Coconut Flour: Coconut flour is made from grinding coconut pulp after it has been squeezed for coconut milk (I recommend Let’s Do Organic or Tropical Traditions brand). It is predominantly the fiber from the coconut and so it absorbs huge quantities of liquid. A good rule of thumb is to use one quarter of the amount of what you would have used if you were using wheat flour. I find myself playing more and more with recipes that use just coconut flour because of nut allergies in my extended family and because of the omega-6 and phytate content in almonds. The biggest challenge with coconut flour is texture: recipes can be very sensitive to the exact quantity of coconut flour. One teaspoon too much, and the result is grainy and heavy. One teaspoon too little, and it doesn’t hold together. Generally, I find that recipes that use coconut flour require more iterations to get exactly right.

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Arrowroot Powder and Tapioca Starch: Arrowroot Starch/Powder is wonderful for giving a light, airy texture to Paleo baking and works very well to thicken sauces without changing the taste (coconut flour can be used to thicken too, but it’s a bit of a strange flavor in a gravy for example). Tapioca Starch/Flour — 20 oz is similar to arrowroot powder but also gives a little elasticity (something that is often missed when baking without gluten). I find myself using arrowroot powder more frequently than tapioca starch, but that mainly reflects my comfort level with arrowroot as I get to know both of these flour substitutes better. Both of these flour substitutes are from ground starchy tubers, so they add carbohydrates to whatever you’re making. I consider these second-choice flours and generally use them only when almond flour or coconut flour are not working on their own.

Tropical Traditions

Tropical Traditions are my #1 go-to for quality coconut oil, coconut cream, coconut flour, red palm oil, and palm shortening. I love supporting this company because they have a strong commitment to family farming, organic standards and stand firmly against genetically modified foods.

About Dr. Sarah Ballantyne, PhD

Award-winning public speaker, New York Times bestselling author and world-renowned health expert, Dr. Sarah Ballantyne, PhD (aka The Paleo Mom) believes the key to reversing the current epidemics of chronic disease is scientific literacy. She creates educational resources to help people regain their health through diet and lifestyle choices informed by the most current evidenced-based scientific research.

Reader Interactions

Comments

I just discovered your blog and I’m devouring it. Thank you so much for all the recipes and basic information posts. They’re perfect! My oldest son has been on and off a GF/CF diet for years, but I find it impossible to stick to if the whole family’s not on board. I think it’s about time we all went Paleo!

Thanks! Word in the Paleo world is that coconut allergies are rare but many members of my husband’s family are allergic. I guess it’s a genetic thing but I’m having a hard time getting them excited about Paleo when most of them are allergic to the Paleo staples for baking (eggs, nut & coconut flours). I am still trying to figure out how to bake without resorting to just buying a gluten free flour mix of potato and rice flours but I’m not there yet. I recently stocked up on arrowroot and tapioca flour, next I’ll try sweet potato flour. I personally love coconut-it’s really a bummer! I’m so excited about your new cracker recipe!

Thanks for this information! I’m going to experiment turning a vegan carrot cake Paleo this weekend. Wish me luck! Do you know how many eggs I should use per 1/4 of coconut flour? Any advice would be gratefully received.

Thanks for this list! I’m trying to manage my 3 month old baby’s egg-and-dairy allergies with an attempt at Paleo-esque eating to help my autistic son. I’ve been going cross-eyed trying to find gluten-free egg-free recipes for pancakes that don’t also include magarine or other problem-child incredients

I was really wondering why so many recipes use almond flour (I hate using it because it is so much more expensive than all the others) so thanks for clarifying! I used coconut flour to thicken a cheese sauce recently and it was definitely off in flavor. I also used it to make some pancakes this morning and they just were not what I was hoping for (we only recently made the switch). I am missing my old buttery, floury, fluffy pancakes! But I will keep hunting for the perfect pancakes 🙂

Would dearly love to use coconut flour, but it sends my reflux through the roof! I tolerate coconut in all other forms so am wondering if it’s the processing of the coconut flour. Any insights/advice on this?

Hi, I’m just wondering if you could help. We’ve been doing the Paleo way for around 2 months now, I miss baking for the kids. I really don’t enjoy the texture or taste of coconut flour but everything else coconut I like, is there anything I can substitute it with anything else.

So I have been at least 80/20 Paleo for about a year and a half. I miss baking- can’t afford to with the high cost and unusual textures you sometimes get with nut flours, but I don’t mind the pancakes, etc made that way. That said, my husband and teenage son are 100% not on board with me, and it is becoming very problematic. I need to find a middle ground and soon! I have found a GF flour made with arrowroot, tapioca, rice and sorghum. Since the only thing I don’t use now is the sorghum, I did a little legwork and am more confused than ever. The Paleo community’s nutritional objections to this ancient grain appear pretty groundless to me, as there are approved fruits and vegetables with higher levels of Lectins and phytates. Also, the nutritional profile, protein, and fiber content of sorghum is pretty impressive, while the “anti-nutrient” levels are relatively low. I have to find a middle ground at my house, as well as some modicum of convenience, as I do work outside the home and don’t particularly enjoy food prep. I would really appreciate some feedback here with regards to the specific objections, with appropriate resources, to using this grain.

I’m on a low FODMAPs AIP right now for about two weeks (started with low FODMAPs three months ago). I tried using a spoonful of arrowroot to thicken a lamb stew last night and it seems like my GI symptoms went berserk. Does this seem like it could be the probable cause? I haven’t had trouble with stews with these ingredients before. Also, do you know if coconut flour could be substituted instead? I usually toss the meat in it and brown it when I make a stew.

Cassava flour is the flour that seems to work the best for one-to-one substitutions. However, it may be easier to make a cake that has been developed to be grain free as opposed to trying to recreate a non grain free recipe to be grain free. I have a recipe for Vanilla Layer Cake that could be made as a sheet cake.

You can have exquisite recipes for cooking but the cassava is not a healthy food. it contains a large amount of starch, therefore it is pure gluten; which is exessively inappropriate for health. In Latin countries, animals with cassava are fattened, especially pigs. They also use it to starch shirt collars and cuffs. All food that contains starch is terrible for health, above all, fatal to arthritis. I am a fan of healthy foods but many times based on my knowledge and my own experiences, I do not give credit to everything I read or some say; including some Drs … Good luck!

Coconut flour is very unique and you can’t just sub other flours for it. My favorite nut free flour to use is cassava flour. I have a lot of egg free and nut free recipes in my book The Paleo Approach Cookbook. -Kiersten

What kind of flour would you recommend for a roux? I have used tapioca starch in the past but it does not thicken well and usually ends up separating from the oil (coconut oil) in the crock pot. I was going to try arrowhead powder but it seems that may give similar results. Any help is appreciated!

I am trying to make my own baking flour mix with almond flour coconut flour tapioca starch and arrowroot I am just not sure how much of the arrowroot and tapioca I need to add to my bag of mixed almond and coconut flour

What about tigernut flour? Can I use almond, coconut, arrowroot, or tapioca flour in its place? Or do I need to keep it on hand for certain recipes? Do you know how it’s different from all of the other flours?

In this article of yours https://www.thePaleomom.com/start-here/the-autoimmune-protocol/ you say to avoid nuts for the autoimmune protocol. Should almond flour, or even milk, be avoided in that case, too? What flours would you recommend if I were following the autoimmune protocol? I have come back negative twice on autoimmune tests, but I have every symptom and reaction and everything else that point to having it, from gut issues to alopecia – I am going to treat myself like I have it for a bit and see what happens. I’ve already been gluten free and dairy free before, Just trying to find a good flour.

Yes, you will need to avoid all nuts and seeds and any flours or “milks” made from them on the Autoimmune Protocol. Sarah’s favorite AIP friendly flour is cassava flour, but coconut flour, arrowroot starch, tapioca starch, and tigernut flour are also good options. -Kiersten

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